Ice Block Chip

Since we are all looking for things to do at home, here is the easiest activity ever to do. You set it up the night before and forget about it. You can do it with what you've got at home too. 

Ice Block Smash
  1. Gather 5-6 small toys that can get wet and a container that can go in the freezer.
  2. Fill the container about a third of the way with water and add a few toys. Freeze.
  3. Once that is frozen, repeat with another layer of toys and water.
  4. Repeat and freeze again. This way you have the toys spread throughout the block
  5. Get outside with a hammer and chip, chip, chip away! You will get wet! 
A hint: if you are having trouble getting it out of your container, give it one quick hit to get it out. Enjoy!

Skinny Dip

Of the million fond memories that I have of my father, one of the fondest was a surprise ice cream treat for me. Ice cream is serious in my family. My grandfather ate vanilla ice cream every.single.night. When my grandma was diagnosed with diabetes, (a sign your pancreas is breaking down) she literally could not understand that she had to live her life without ice cream. She didn't want sherbet, she wanted ice cream. More than once as a child my dad and I ate ice cream for breakfast. And so... one Sunday afternoon while my dad complained of a headache, there was only one solution- a surprise ice cream stop for me.
Now Skinny Dip isn't exactly ice cream, it's frozen yogurt, which I love because it's a little healthier- pretoppings. They have multiple flavors and options from vegan, to sugar free, dairy free, to low fat. Pair that with a huge selection of toppings- cereal, gummy worms, fruit, nuts, candy bar pieces, and even pie crust. 
The way it works; pick your base, load your toppings, and pay by the weight. But what we really love about Skinny Dip is that it has options for everyone. The bases include so many dietary restrictions, but even more than that they have doggie dips for pups and welcome this to sit on their patio. They also have small tables for kids and high chairs for babies. In their bathrooms they have little urinals, a changing table, and stools for the sink. They are a local chain (mostly- one Florida location) and they have fundraisers and birthday parties. 
Skinny Dip is one of the places that we ask for giftcards to in place of toys during holidays because we love going and spending the time together. Poor baby Ronnie wants to know where his is!

Indoor Things to Do With Your Toddler

Well, it's here. I avoided it forever, but I guess we have to face it- we will be stuck with our kids inside until who knows when. So here's a list of things to do inside!
  • Bake with them! Let them stir and crack things and layer things. 
  • Have them put on a fashion show. By the time they pick their outfits, practice their walk, and pick the music this could take a full afternoon. 
  • Organize those toys you've been putting off forever 
  • Create tape art. Put tape down, paint, peel it up.
  • Board Games
  • Decorate a card and send to a family member 
  • Ice chip (freeze a toy in an ice block and let them chip away to get it out)
  • Thread string through pasta noodles to improve fine motor skills
  • Encourage them to put on a play 
  • Draw letters, shapes, numbers, in shaving cream 
  • Card Games
  • Make fruit popsicles
  • Play grocery store with items from your pantry 
  • Play in a sticker book 
  • Turn off the lights and play with glow sticks
  • Create a scavenger hunt around your house, giving clues to find items. 
  • Play follow the leader adding in jumps, skips, hops... whatever!
  • Put them inside a box with crayons, let them go crazy 
  • Fold the hundred toilet paper rolls we are going to go through into shapes and turn them into stamps. 
  • Balloon volleyball 
  • Doddle on a doodle mat
  • Make towers with paper/plastic cups 
  • Play I Spy 
  • Look through their baby book
  • Hide and Seek 
  • Label sight words around your house such as clock, refrigerator, sink, shower 
  • Homemade pizza 
  • Build a fort 
  • Throw a dance party 
  • Bubble party! No one is really too cool for bubbles. This one is on sale!
  • Glow party These are 53% off! 
Technology Resources:

Toddler Tuesday Tech Edition: ABCYa

ABCYA is a free (on the computer, some games free on a tablet) educational interactive website that caters from preschool age all the way to 6th grade.  Their Pre-k section is divided into letters, numbers, holiday, strategies, and skills. Some of my favorites in the ABC section are the Connect the Dots in ABC order, Trace the Letter, and Alphabet Sliders. They are perfect for RT's level as a 3 (almost four!) year old.
Under Math, the Fuzz Bugs Patterns, and Fuzz Bugs Sorting are great for him and I'm hoping to explore more of the 100 snowballs. For kids a little younger the Counting Fish, Number Match, and Birthday Candle Counting are great.

The Holiday section is mostly for fun, while the Strategy games can really work their brains. In Skills I love the Shape Patterns and Shapes Geometry ones. This site is great for any of those ages, so when you need something to do that is both fun, educational, and keep them quiet, check this out!

Need more to do?
Check out these old Toddler Tech Tuesdays: here, here, here, and here.

Toddler Tuesday Tech Edition: Quivervision

Wow, wow, wow. You'll never go back to the old school coloring book. Quivervision is a mashup of your grandma's coloring and your future grandkid's technology. In your store, find the free app Quiver and let it download while you read this. By printing out one of their many coloring sheets, kids can turn their artwork into interactive 3d creations. Airplanes fly, dragons breathe fire, players kick soccer goals, and ballerinas dance. No special pens are needed, any pencil, marker, crayon, or paint works. The app works on both Android and iphones. There is a Crayola section with little kid appropriate options. The fire truck drives, you can move the ladder, and even shoot water across your dining room table.
Quiver Masks is their newest app which takes Quiver's augmented reality coloring pages and adds the technology of face tracking so that users can design their own masks. Both apps are free. Check it out!